A Pakistani teenager who was shot in the head by the Taliban has been reunited in Edinburgh with two friends who were injured in the attack.

Malala Yousafzai, 16, was targeted last October as a result of her campaigning for better rights for girls.

She was in Edinburgh to address the first public meeting of the Global Citizenship Commission.

She said she felt empowered in her fight for universal education as her two friends joined her in her campaign.

Malala was guest of honour at the meeting of the commission, which is a joint initiative between former prime minister Gordon Brown, New York University and Carnegie UK Trust.

'Not afraid'

She was also awarded with an honorary masters degree from the university and the Carnegie Award for Wellbeing for her work promoting education and women's rights.

She was joined in McEwan Hall by school friends Kainat Riaz and Shazia Ramzan.

For achieving any goal, people must be united, they must work together and that is why I feel empoweredMalala Yousafzai

The three, who all now live and study in the UK, met for the first time since the Taliban attack on their school bus in Pakistan last October.

She received a standing ovation from the 1,000-strong audience as she lifted her honorary degree into the air.

The teenager said: "I'm here for the first time and it's really nice to see Scotland, I'm enjoying to see the hills, small hills, because we have mountains in Pakistan.

"After I was shot the terrorists thought that I would not continue the struggle for education, but not only did I not stop my campaign but now Kainat and Shazia are with me and they are also supporting me.

"They are not afraid, we are not afraid and now people are supporting us and that is the greatest courage, and that is the weapon that we have got, the unity and togetherness."

She added: "For achieving any goal, people must be united, they must work together and that is why I feel empowered."

After the attack Malala was treated at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and has now settled in the city with her family.